Law 897: Theresa D’Andrea’s Assignment for November 15th

Google: An Application of Antitrust Laws in the Digital Age



I. Introduction to Antitrust Laws

If you have not taken an antitrust law course, become familiar with the FTC Guide to Antitrust Laws, available through the links starting here and in this PDF (read pages 1 to 9, 23 to top of 33, skim 35-39). It is not illegal for a company to have a monopoly, which means that obtaining a monopoly through superior products, innovation, and technology is legal. Instead, monopolization is defined as market power plus exclusionary or predatory acts without a legitimate business justification (as described in the FTC Guidelines).

Read this article, Tech Revolution Spurs Debate over Antitrust Law, which questions if antitrust laws are outdated and then read the FTC’s statement, reiterating that antitrust laws are still relevant and applicable to companies in the digital age.

 

II. Technological background: How does Google’s search engine work?

 

III. Google has the market power...

As of December 2009, Google surpassed 72% of the US market shares of search engines. The number is as high as 85% of global market shares. According to the FTC Guidelines, a company that holds over 50% of the market shares has a monopoly.

But how does this violate antitrust laws?

The following are examples of how Google has violated or could violate antitrust laws:

Important questions to consider: Who are Google’s competitors? What is Google’s product? If Google’s product is both its search engine & search advertisements, then how can Foundem’s search neutrality resolve Google’s antitrust claims?


Do you think Google has violated any antitrust laws? Why or why not? Think of a possible solution or two that would help Google avoid further antitrust suits.



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